Archive for August, 2015

Yesterday I was the bug! The bug that gets hit by the windshield…. It was a hot day here in SoCal temps topping 90+ and the guys were not backing down from putting it to me. Yeah, I guess I had it coming. After the weeks of me putting the hurt on them it was my turn to try and suck wheel…. but that is another story for another day.

This day was about surviving and then trying to figure out why it turned the way it did. Long story not quite as long. I made it through and finished with a few good PR’s on Strava.com a time good enough for a cup (but I had already been faster) and just a great day with the guys.

Now 24 hours later I can ask – what happened? Was it the lack of sleep this week from traveling for work to Vegas. (yes there was work that was done there) Poor diet of eating out? the 18 hours of drive time this week sitting on my ass? or just the lack of good quality training? well, what do you think? I’d say all of it – but I’m ok with the day. There will days when you get popped of the back and are the bug. Just be glad you’re out there and realize that even the pros have bad days. Of course their bad days are better than our best – but that’s cool.

Just enjoy your rides and think about why they turned out as they have so that you can be ok with the times you get to spend. each one is really a gift.

This is the silver bullet question everyone wants to know. What makes me an expert or even someone with enough knowledge to write a blog on how to get better? What have you done? Good question!

When I started cycling I had no idea about HR zones or power meters, watts were something that I looked at when choosing a lightbulb. But over the years I’ve learned enough that I feel like I can help other newer cyclists or even cyclists looking for an edge to jump up to the podium.

My results – when I first got my power meter and started testing myself I was not able to ride with most groups for very long. I’d get dropped after the warm-up when I was already red-lining. My functional threshold power was under 200 (for newbies – that’s pretty low for a guy who weighed 225). Now I’m down to 195 in weight and up to 297 for an FTP – this change allows me to now not only ride with the groups but also dish out small portions of pain along the route. I’m not quite at the point to break away from them and ride off alone but when I hit the front it’s definitely game on.

So that is a quick bit on me – I’ll talk more as this goes along on how I’ve made these changes and seen the results. What I tried that didn’t work and some of my best advice and workouts.

This will be my attempt to share what I’ve learned through the few years of cycling that i have had along with a place to gather new information, hopefully bringing it all together for all of us to share and learn from.

I’m a big guy – I like to call it horizontally gifted and vertically challenged. But that doesn’t stop me from trying to be my best.

3 things about riding with me:

You’ll probably drop me on the climb

I will catch you on the descent

I will make you work hard on the flats

A quick tip for today – if you’re not riding, start today. I always feel better after a ride… heading out now for a quick spin….